LONG-AWAITED plans to triple the size of Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital car park took a step forward as plans were submitted to the city council.

If approved the current 291-space car park on Mendalgief Road would be extended to create another 690 spaces on part of the former Whiteheads Steelworks site for a temporary period of five years.

The proposed extension, believed to cost in the region of £500,000, will be for use by patients and visitors and may also be used by staff.

Access to the site would be via the existing car park and would be fenced off from the road and floodlit.

In a report to city planners the Aneurin Bevan Health Board (ABHB) says the much-needed car park would alleviate deteriorating car parking and manoeuvring within the hospital grounds.

A report added that one traffic-related fatality had occurred recently and parking and manoeuvring at the entrance was leading to problems for ambulances trying to get to the doors of A&E.

The new car park will help solve this because fewer cars will need to access the hospital grounds, the report said.

Catherine O’Sullivan, chief officer at the ABHB community health council welcomed the plans.

She said: “This is desperately needed at the Royal Gwent site.

“Right now the parking situation leaves many patients queuing for up to a hour and a half to park their cars.

“It’s enormously frustrating for patients, for visitors and the NHS. We would just hope they get these plans approved for the patients’ sake.”

Gwent Police said they would have no objection to the plans provided the car park had sufficient security to help reduce the high level of car crime, which has plagued the current car park for the past 18 months.

A spokesman for the ABHB said it was looking at a number of options both on and off site to improve the parking situation at the Royal Gwent Hospital for patients visitors and staff.

He added having spaces on the Whiteheads site had eased pressure in the hospital car parks and the board was looking to the planning application to add additional spaces there.